PowerPoint is everywhere. But does it transform you into a great presenter with an engaged audience – or into a lazy reader who can coast through a speech by not really speaking? Exploring two sides of this timely communications debate, Marketcom asked two communications experts about the pluses and perils of Microsoft PowerPoint and how to make presentations more compelling. It’s part of Marketcom’s effort to shine the light on communications issues that affect business life and decision-making. Here’s what speechwriter and author Michael Cohen and presentation trainer Jerry Doyle have to say…
Michael Cohen: Why don’t I like PowerPoint? Let me count the ways. Go to any conference today and it’s patently obvious that PowerPoint has become a crutch; a substitute for conveying ideas and emotions. What was once a useful tool for small-group presentations has mushroomed into the primary way we communicate in a business environment. You know the drill: write up a few banal talking points, stick them on a slide and repeat them to your audience. It’s a bit like doing an outline for an assignment in school and then simply skipping the paper and handing in the outline. One of my favorite tricks is when presenters hand out their slides. This leads to the unmistakable question - did the speaker really need to show up in the first place (not to mention the audience)?
Jerry Doyle: Michael, I’m not going to sit here and argue that PowerPoint is not overused, both in business and increasingly in non-business settings like PTA meetings. So what? PowerPoint is a wonderful innovation that has brought vivid color, graphics and animation to slides, replacing the tired look of overheads, transparencies and blurry carousel pictures. Remember overheads? They weren’t a lot of fun either.
The real problem is that many presenters are under the impression that PowerPoint has not only replaced obsolete visual aids, but has become the presentation itself! This is a grave mistake that leaves audiences yearning…and yawning. Used appropriately, PowerPoint can be one powerful utility to excite, connect and persuade. But, it doesn’t do it on its own. If it did, the speaker can simply set the laptop to automatic slide-advance and leave the room.
MC: Jerry, I’m not a complete Luddite, I’m the first to recognize that PowerPoint can serve as an extraordinarily helpful tool for making presentations, particularly in smaller venues or when numbers and figures must take precedence over words. Though I love the power of language and speeches, I too have used PowerPoint in the past to bolster speaking engagements - generally as a visual aid for transmitting figures, charts and photos. But even the strongest visual cannot take the place of crisp, robust and persuasive language. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, how many is a bullet point worth?
If Abraham Lincoln had the speaking style of the average corporate presenter using PowerPoint, here’s how the Gettysburg Address would have looked up on the screen:
- America was born eighty-seven years ago.
- Now we are facing a great struggle.
- That struggle is a test of our ability to survive as a nation.
- We must remember those who died.
- But we also need to ensure they did not die in vain.
- In their name, we must remain committed to the task at hand.
- We must stay the course.
- Any questions?
JD: Michael, that’s great - but PowerPoint just isn’t going away.
MC: And that’s too bad. Winston Churchill once noted, "Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king." That nails it. How many of us can remember a really great PowerPoint presentation? You know, "Boy, when she pulled out slide number 12, it spoke to something deep inside of me."
Editor’s Note: At this point it became necessary to stop the debate and ask both participants to list their top 5 techniques for making a PowerPoint presentation work (and not be boring).
Jerry Doyle on effective use of PowerPoint:
How can you make your PowerPoint presentation more compelling? The answer is simple: Punch up your opener, pare down your slide content and don’t over-animate the graphics.
Rule #1: Always Provide a Compelling Opener
Before any of your content slides are up, perhaps when just your title slide is showing, you have a critical 1-2 minutes to grab the audience’s attention. An audience attention is earned and most of that is done at first impression. You must let them know that you are the presenter, not slide-flipper. So, what to do you do and say? Here are a few suggestions:
- Offer a Road Map
Most audiences will listen more when you give them a clear idea of how you are going to spend their time. And, add a bold statement explaining why it is of interest and what they should do with this information. It can (and should) all be done in as concise a statement as possible: "In the next hour, I’m going to show you how new innovations in wine-making will change your perception of California reds." Poll the Audience
- Interaction always increases audience attention.
Think of a question that you already know the answer to, ask the audience, add a compelling statistic and connect it to your road map: "By show of hands, how many of you have a DVD player at home? DVD sales have already outpaced VCRs in the equivalent time period. Today, I’m going to tell you about a product in our pipeline that has the potential to outpace both VCRs and DVDs combined!" Use the News
- Hold up a newspaper, a magazine cover or a trade publication that has an article relevant to your subject matter and reference it as a lead-in to your talk. The masthead of the publication will create a memorable image in the audience member’s mind’s eye long after they exit the room. Connect it directly to the main theme or key message of your talk. Perhaps later that day or evening, they’ll seek out that article and it will further remind them of that message.
Rule #2: Understand the difference between ‘visual aid’ and ‘visual crutch.
’First, let’s define "Visual Aid": A visual aid is just that, an aid. It is an illustrative tool to underscore, characterize or highlight a point the presenter is making. Visuals help the audience remember the message. But it is not in and of itself the message. For example: In order for a doctor to make his point about the need for arterial by-pass surgery, he might include a picture of a traffic-choked highway, which is analogous to a clogged artery. Obviously, the picture needs explanation and cannot stand on its own.
Rule #3: Please don’t jam everything onto one slide.
Never use a sentence when a phrase will do. And, never use a phrase when a word is sufficient. Remember that when you create your slides you have to edit word content down to the lowest common denominator. When you deliver on that slide, you are now the translator and elaborator of the information. This will help avoid audience multi-tasking. To further control the audience’s focus, try to set-up each slide before you click to it so they know what’s important about it before they even see it, then pause to let it sink in. If you’ve pared down the content well enough, then that pause can be very brief, then all eyes back on you for the explanation.
Rule #4: Remember the Billboard Principle.
Consider the Billboard Principle: An illustration must support in a simple and clear way the point or part of the point you’re making. Here is where the Billboard Principle applies. The best visuals on a PowerPoint slide should be as clearly and quickly understood as a billboard that is read by motorists speeding down a highway. The point is retained by the audience and the attention is back to the speaker. The traffic picture (as discussed above) presented with just a little context by the speaker is simple, supportive and memorable. If, on the other hand, a speaker displays a complex and convoluted graphic, he/she will have a difficult time getting the audience’s attention back from your slide.
Charts vs. graphs vs. pictures
Always use a picture instead of a chart or graph. It is simpler and is retained with less required study. However, charts and graphs are often necessary, even very complex ones. In these cases, it is even more vital that you set-up the slide before it appears and point directly to what is important or what the "take-away" message is within the complexity. This decreases the chance that your point gets lost while the audience tries to decipher the busy slide.
Animation has its limits
PowerPoint is capable of great graphic movement and animation, but it can easily be more distracting than helpful. Remember that the more animation you insert, the more you have to manage the slides and it just adds to what you’re worrying about up there at the podium. Worse, too many fly-ins, fly-outs, builds, sound effects and wacky transitions will divert the audience’s attention away from your message. Another important thing to remember here is that if the animation doesn’t support your message in some way, then it is not aiding you. A sound effect for slide transition that makes the sound of a camera taking a snap shot is not supportive in a presentation about how to prevent skin cancer. Clip-art of a boy applying sunscreen makes more sense.
Rule #5: The audience came to hear you!
PowerPoint slides are the standard, so get used to it. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that it is a replacement for you, the presenter. Remember that creating and editing the slides is only half of the preparation you have to do. The other critical factor is rehearsal. Practice, practice, practice… because the audience is expecting to hear from you, not your laptop!
Michael Cohen on how (and when) to use PowerPoint:
Rule #1: Always use a script. It makes for a crisper and more coherent presentation.
Rule #2: Only use graphics when they’re additive to the presentation.
Rule #3: Stay away from PowerPoint’s flashier graphics - they’re distracting for both you and your audience.
Rule #4: If you're not going to use visuals, graphics, charts, etc. then don't bother using PowerPoint.
Rule #5: When in doubt, call a freelance speechwriter to help!
Michael A. Cohen is a freelance speechwriter in New York who has worked with senior executives of major corporations, as well as in the public sector for Senator Chris Dodd and Governor Bill Richardson. He can be reached at speechboy@hotmail.com .
Jerry Doyle is Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing at CommCore Consulting Group, one of the largest and most experienced specialty presentation and media coaching firms. He can be reached at jdoyle@commcoreconsulting.com .
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